Trey McKinney - Silencing The Haters on MERCER-225

20 year old angling phenom, Trey McKinney just won his second Elite Series title in as many years. He is the reigning rookie of the year, he has ten top 10s, finished second at the Bassmaster Classic and is currently in a two-way tie for Angler of the Year. McKinney is one of the most scrutinized and polarizing pros on the water. He does nothing without eyeballs on him. The question is just how much does he have to win to Silence the haters?

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
OK, before I even say some of this stuff, I get it.
It doesn't compute. And not even 2 full seasons on
the Bassmaster Elite series. He is 10 Bassmaster top 10s.
He's a two time Elite Series champion.
He is the reigning rookie of theyear.
He got a bridesmaid finish in the Bassmaster Classic and he
doesn't. Even know what it's like.

(00:22):
Not to contend for Angler of theyear cause guess what?
Hot off a win last week, which is one event left to go, he's in
a two way tie for progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year
with the reigning and defending Angler of the Year champion
Chris Johnston. And he's 20 years old.
The phenomena that is Trey McKinney joins me this week.

(00:56):
I'm Bob Cobb for the bass master.
Welcome to Mercer. Welcome one.
Welcome all, friends, family, freeloaders, fishing freaks, and
of course you, my humpers. Happy hump day to all of you and
welcome into the Awkwardly Honest Fishing podcast that goes
by my last name, which is Mercer.
This is the 225th edition of theMercer podcast, and I hope

(01:18):
wherever you're watching or listening from the life is
treating you well. I just got back from Lake Saint
Clair, a pretty phenomenal eliteseries event.
Want to thank all the fine humpers that said hello there
and everybody I got to see there.
It was a very, very good time. My family got to make it out
there, which is always nice to have my family at events.

(01:41):
So it's cool to have them there.And it was just a great event.
I mean, lots of cool things happened.
First of all, this week's show agood one.
I mean, we're going to talk to one of the most talked about pro
anglers in the last two years. And I get to ask Trey some
questions that aren't that easy to answer.

(02:02):
And I hope you enjoyed this one.But let's get back to the event.
Zona was there, which made it awesome.
Obviously Zona one of my best friends in the world and the
Bass Master broadcast is so muchbetter when Zona is part of it.
So it was awesome to have Z there.
I enjoyed having him on set withus and it's just life is better

(02:28):
with Zona, whether it's Bass Master, whether it's you just
hanging out in a pontoon boat inthe rain, which which we've done
several times, it's better with Zona.
So it was great to hang out withZona.
Another guy I got to hang out with this past weekend, Travis
Pastrana, I mean he's an 11 timeX Games gold medalist.

(02:51):
He's basically, we've talked about it around the set and
Miami Dan, one of our camera guys came up with this and it's
the great analogy. He's basically the evil Knievel
of our generation. He has done everything that most
people are scared of, but he works with Yokohama.
The event was sponsored by Yokohama.

(03:12):
So he was at the event. It was cool to hang out with
him. Me and him went out to the raft
off what was supposed to be a quick video hit turned into a
three hour tour. But we laughed.
We had a good time. And and that's what's cool when
you get to meet somebody like Travis was strong as a mega
star. I mean, he's got 5 million
Instagram followers. I mean, he's he's big time and

(03:37):
when you get to spend that amount of time with him and and
when you're dealing with stress for he had to be back for a
signing and stuff like that. If there was a Jackass in him, I
would have saw it, but I didn't.He's a pretty chill, cool,
amazing guy. So thank you, Travis.
I really enjoyed that. And hey, maybe we'll have him on
the podcast at some point if he's ever willing.

(03:58):
I didn't ask him, but maybe thisis my public asking of him right
now. Would you like to see a Travis
Pastrana podcast? I know I would other things
going on in the fishing world and we don't always talk about
MLF, but this bears talking about.
Holy crap Jacob Wheeler, you area freaking fire breathing

(04:22):
dragon. He won his 10th Bass Pro Tour
event this past week. But on top of that, he won his
fourth Angler of the Year title.4 out of five years he's won
Angler of the Year. This is a unprecedented run.
I mean, we haven't seen anythinglike that since Kevin Van Damme.

(04:46):
So congratulations, Wheeler. I know you work your age off and
it's good to see it paying off. So really, really freaking mind
boggling. But I mean, he's not the only
person with mind boggling numbers.
There's some young anglers with mind bogggling numbers and we
happen to have one of them on this week's show.

(05:07):
And Tray McKinney is what he's doing in professional fishing,
whether you love forward facing sonar or hate forward facing
sonar. Whether you love.
The young anglers or don't love the young anglers.
He's 20 years old and what he's doing is unfathomable.

(05:29):
He is truly a phenom. 10 top 10sin like 17 Elite Series events.
He's got, I mean, almost one angler of the year in his rookie
season. If it wasn't for a few mishaps,
which we talked about in this week's podcast, we talked about

(05:50):
some of the mistakes of his rookie season.
He almost won the freaking Bassmaster Classic.
He's won two Elite Series events.
And as I said in the open, he doesn't even know what it's like
not to contend for Angler of theyear.
Because last year, if it wasn't for those mishaps, he wins
Angler of the year. And this year he finds himself

(06:12):
in a two way tie going into the final event, the closest we've
ever had in Angler of the year race.
I am excited to see it go down in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.
I hate the hate that swirls around like when you see him
doing well what she almost always does in an event you hear

(06:35):
some hate around him you. I mean the same thing happened
with Easton father girl. I don't get it.
If you don't like forward facingsonar, that's cool.
You can dislike it all you want,but you have to respect what
some of these young anglers are doing.
They're they're doing things that never people never imagined

(06:56):
possible. And when I talk about Wheeler
and what he's accomplished, which is truly amazing, and you
think, well, who's going to compete with those kind of
numbers? Well, freaking Trey McKinney
hasn't even figured out how to do this yet properly.

(07:18):
It's unfathomable. And at some point people are
just going to have to say that he's pretty freaking good.
And I am thankful that he took the time to do this interview
and have this conversation. I'm thankful that he was open
to. I asked him is there anything we

(07:39):
can't talk about? He said Nope, straight up, let's
just talk about whatever. And I asked him some tough
questions in this conversation, and he answers them all.
It's, I think anybody that does what he's doing in a sport is
going to get, hey, I mean, it's just how it is.

(08:02):
I mean, it's the world we live in.
But man, at some point you just got to be like, what we're
seeing is special. What we're seeing is different.
What we're seeing is freaking amazing.
That being said, I mean very technically advanced, very

(08:26):
advanced for his age in many ways, but not very good at at
podcasts in the way that it getsdark.
And I don't mean as topics, I mean it literally gets dark as
the podcast goes on. He's in his trailer, it gets
dark outside. And guess what?
It by the end of this, he looks like he's in witness protection,
basically just a a shadow of hisoutline and his voice.

(08:51):
But it was a very cool conversation.
I hope you guys appreciate it and I know I did so.
But that being said, I know someof you are wonder where's Jake's
take? Jake's take and the conclusion
will be next week's show. Rick Klung was away.

(09:11):
He's fishing A tournament on Leech Lake.
So I thought I'll just have the two wrap up shows together.
And by this time next week, TreyMcKinney will be busy pre
fishing for the final Elite Series event where he's trying
to win Angler of the Year against the reigning and
defending Angler of the Year champion.
How freaking ridiculous is it tohave a two way tie going into

(09:32):
that? So anyways, next week you will
get Jake's take. Next week you will get the Clung
inclusion. But this week we get the newest
Elite Series champion. He is a two time Elite Series
champion. The young phenomena that is
Trey. McKinney Trey McKinney, you are
a freaking two time Bassmaster Elite Series champion.

(09:56):
It's crazy. I didn't even like what I was
like when you said that. I was like, I didn't even think
about it. I was like, Oh my gosh, like,
you know, it's crazy enough to get one, and then we were
fortunate enough and blessed enough to get the second one.
It's just somebody going to haveto pinch me.
I, I guess so, I mean, but that seems to be, I mean, first of

(10:17):
all, how's the, how's the secondone different than the first
one? To me it's big time because of
like the stress level for whatever reason, because the
first one I didn't understand itright.
Like I just got in the Elite series.
It was your second Elite Series event.
Yeah, like it was just, it was the second one.
And I did I, you know, I hadn't been in it long enough to have a

(10:37):
whole bunch of stress up. Like to me, you know, I was
like, you know, this is a new experience, you know, let's not
stress about it too much. Let's just have fun.
And when it came, it was like, wow, this is like unexpected,
you know, I the only, the littlebit of stress I had was, you
know, those last couple of the two days and because it got
really close there and I was like, Oh, wow, this is, you

(10:58):
know, this is crazy and all that.
But this one, you know, I fishedquite a few, not a bunch, but if
you know, quite a few events since then.
And now with anger of the year. And like what happened last year
with the anger of the year and then this event, because I knew
like, if I didn't win it, then Idrop a point and he'd have one
point on me. So they're like the stress of

(11:19):
that and then the stress of actually just winning event and
then the stress of leading it. Like that's been my dream my
whole life is always to win one from the day one to day four.
And I was like, that was playingin the background.
I was like, don't mess it up, don't mess it up.
And then it was just, I don't know what it was, man.
This one, this one that was had me all turned around and upside

(11:40):
down. And heck, I mean, this sounds
great, but hey, guy, I mean, my stomach's been so crazy.
I've been going 3 or 4 times a day and not one of them been
solid. You know, I've been going crazy,
you know, it's been wild. And I think it's just all the
nerves and stuff. So it was, it was a, it was a
crazy tournament. It really was.

(12:01):
I mean, on the final day though,like you've all you had a big
lead, but when you catch a six two on your third freaking cast,
like was that the dagger where you were like, we got this.
Yeah, I mean, when I threw out there and he'd come up and it
just ate it, I was like, I like,you know, Oh my gosh.

(12:24):
Like I was freaking out because like what you said, I was like,
well, I've already got the hardest thing out of the way.
You know, like, I mean, that's it.
That was the dagger like 100% because I knew I could catch,
you know, some 3 1/2's to fours.And heck, at that point I would
already have enough to seal the deal.
And when that happened, I was like, Oh my, the Lord is good.

(12:45):
I was like, he, he didn't make me wait that long at all.
I was like, he already just got it out of the way.
And I think it was best because if not, you know, I'd have been
stressing. I got to turn myself green out
there. And you know, listen, I had
music on 100 by the end of the day.
They're trying to keep myself nervous, but it was it was
pretty unbelievable. Talk to me about that.

(13:07):
The freaking music. Like I don't know if it's a Lake
Sinclair thing, but Bill Widler did it when he played like he
played music, but he at least had an earpiece in like he did
not you with everything. We we're in the most technical
realm of fishing where people are like Kya is over there
telling people camber guys whereto stand on their boat.

(13:29):
So it's the most level read and you literally had tunes playing
the whole way through it like. Do you not?
Think that's I mean I guess it clearly doesn't scare them.
I mean, it just depends. So like if I'm fishing up
shallow and like a whole bunch of like.
So like in in practice, let's say from when I put in to when I

(13:51):
take out, the only time I ain't playing music is when my air
pods are charging. That's it.
You know, like that, that is theonly moments that music is not
playing just because it just like my mind just so scattered.
You know, it goes all over the place, whether it's fishing,
hunting, or I'm thinking about where I need to go next or the

(14:12):
trip to camp. Like, I mean, my brain goes
crazy places and when I'm listening to music it just like
no matter if it's a, it could bethe craziest, loudest, most
obnoxious music, but it's still like finds its way to like just
make my brain. I don't know, I guess it's
everybody's different. But for me, it just kind of kind
of calms me down. But in practice, I listen to it

(14:34):
on my air pods and in the tournament.
Let's say that's why I don't listen to it on air pods is
because let's say if a fish blewup, you know, I can still hear
the surround sound when I'm listening to on speakers.
But if I got it in my, you know,Airpods, somebody could like run
over me and I would still not even know what happened.
So that's why I always listen toit on the speaker.

(14:55):
So if one blew up or some started chasing, I would know
what's going on. So how do you not?
Are you just a more confident human being than the average?
Because. Because to me, even if I was
catching them, even if I was leading on the final day, I'd be
like, all right, I got to turn the music off just in case.

(15:15):
Like, just in case there's this one millip percentage that, I
mean, you've already dominated the tournament, but like, that
doesn't even come into your headthat playing music might hurt
your chances. I mean, not really, you know,
because even when the music was playing and you got to think
like if we're going in a technical side of it, you know,
and I've been swimming a lot andnot swimming a lot lately.

(15:39):
But when I go swimming, you know, and, and a motor starts
up, I mean, that sucker could be2020, I mean 200 yards away and
it sounds like it's running overyou.
I mean, like that thing is like running right over the top of
you. And there was so much commotion
and waves and all that. And the music, you know, it's
inside the boat. So I guess the frequency, if it

(16:01):
had like a lot of bass, like rapor something like that, I could
see where it would do something if you're up shallow.
But you know, that sad country because I was listening to like,
you know, just so just country music, whether it was, you know,
Sweet Home Alabama, whatever, you know, a lot of it.
I just feel like, you know, there was so many boats running
around and all that and then giant boats, like I don't even

(16:24):
know what them sound like the water.
So I was like, you know, I'm like all places this, there
ain't no way. And heck, I don't even care.
I was like my, my nerves got to be down anyway for me to even
catch 1. So I was like, that's the main
focus. And heck, I caught them.
Heck, 20 foot away from the actually some underneath the
boat, you know, maybe they like some, you know, some hate, you

(16:45):
know, they never know. If there's a lake in the world
that they like it, Saint Clair might be that lake.
I mean, it's there's a lot of music playing on Saint Clair.
It is definitely it is Partyville.
But is this something you've like?
Have I not noticed this? Is this is this new for you?
Or is this have you always been jamming to tunes when you're

(17:07):
competing? I've always been jamming usually
like a lot of times, like when I'm running, I got it all the
way up or like, yeah, I'll usually like I was a little bit
more scared because you know, I didn't know like on live or
something. But like because I didn't, I was
kind of scared to like turn it on because I didn't know if I
could get yelled at or something.
So like, you know, jamming on music.
But then I was like, you know what?
I was like, I'm so nervous. I was like, if it's wrong, no,

(17:29):
tell me and I can turn it off and we'll go like that.
Just because I was so nervous. I was like, I don't care if
people get to hear it or not. I got to play it because I was
losing my mind out there. And yeah, I, I love music, man.
I've, I'll just always, no matter what it is, really.
It's kind of like a movie. Like it can be a terrible,
terrible movie, but if I watch 15 minutes of it, I've got to

(17:50):
watch the rest. Like it's just, I don't know,
it's just the way I work and I've just got hooked on that
music that it just helps me out there.
And because I fish so much, you know, it's, it kind of drains it
a little bit, makes it less nervous, calms me and I focus
like crazy. Like I might be doing, my brain
might be going 1000 different ways, but I'm still so focused

(18:13):
that like it's kind of crazy because if I don't do that and I
try to overly focus, that's whenI mess things up like really,
really bad. Like either like set the hook
too quick or once I'm really focused, I'll set the hook too
hard, like and outrageously hardand I'll like break one off or
like do something like that. But when I'm in like a rhythm of
like got some tunes going, got thinking about a few other

(18:36):
things, it kind of I just let ithappen.
I don't try to make it happen. I just I let it happen and seems
like I always fish a lot better when that happens.
When I try to make it happen, itjust goes downhill.
Most of the time like I said, the hook crazy or I'll get in a
hurry and I'll rush one to the boat and it'll jump and come off
or something like that. So it does overall help me a lot

(18:57):
well. Music's your tool, so will you.
Will you be jamming music in La Crosse, WI?
Depends. So if I'm on main river probably
100% like definitely. And then like, if I'm like
creeping up, push, pulling in the backwater with some duckweed
or something, that's when she might go on silent because I

(19:18):
just want to hear oh, Oh my frogor something like that.
Then that's that's the music in my ears there.
Well, before we get into lacrosse, let's talk about Saint
Clair a little more because I said it on stage.
The amount of locals I've heard from and people you know that
are impressed with what you pulled off is dude.

(19:39):
And I think it says a lot that it wasn't just what you pulled
off, it's how you pulled it off.Like you literally did it in
front of a lot of other anglers throughout the weekend.
You had, you didn't have a secret spot.
How did you outfish the competition around you?
Yeah, you know what I mean. And and even Rick Cheatham has

(20:03):
always told me and he's he's my mentor.
He's the one that, you know, I've always fished with.
And he was, he was always telling me.
I never thought anything of it. But he's like he's a, you know,
any way I fished with he just I know for some reason you.
Have I always like you don't youdon't even notice it, but he's
like when I'm watching you, He said every cast is like
different. I was like, what do you mean?

(20:24):
He's like, you just figure out the right cadence and then you
know it and then that's what youdo.
And I was like, what do you whatdo you mean?
He's like, it's just, I don't know, it's hard to explain.
And he said that's one thing I feel like God is gifting me with
is just kind of the kind of likea gut feeling of like, it's just
like hunting. So I mean, that's all that I've
learned in my life. And that's all I focused on is

(20:46):
how to kill and how to catch. Like that's, that's been my
life. You know, like we, I've been
bird hunting, quail hunting duck, I'm haunted about just
about everything. And that's I either had to learn
how to outsmart something or present the bait the right way.
And it's kind of been the same. It's, it's the same aspect.
Honestly, hunting to fishing is very, very similar because it's

(21:09):
kind of the same thing. You got to sneak up on them one
way and then you got to present whether it's a decoy spread,
whether it's how you set up yourdecoys with a West wind and
north wind, however you got to do it.
And it's like so many different variables.
And like once you understand, like what's your baits doing?
I'm like, OK, so like when a fish is sitting in a grass

(21:29):
clump, I'm imagine I was like, OK, he's sitting in the grass
clump. He's sitting there and like you
can kind of tell, you know, looking on your, you know, like
what he's doing. And I could be sitting on the
outside looking up or anything. I'm like, OK, if I was a, if I
was a bait fish, how am I going to come across as most natural?
Like what am I going to do to like trick this fish in the
bottom? And like before I cast, I always

(21:50):
think of like a different outcome.
Like what am I going to do on this one?
Because every small mouth that'sdifferent.
And that's what really I feel like once I realize that not
everyone's the same and everyonelikes something else, that's
when I started like key in on like trying to make one bite.
And then if he if he saw it and he didn't initiate and I'll be
like, Nope. And I'd wait for however long

(22:11):
and then I'd give him another shot with a different bait.
And then I'd come around, circlearound him, come around from a
different area, pick up a different bait, throw out there,
give him a different presentation.
And then if I didn't work, then I'd kind of ease off, go around
him on another side, pick up a different bait, give him a
different presentation. And once I figured out like what
made him move the most, then I'll just sit there and pick at

(22:33):
him, pick at him till I get the right action.
And then every once in a while I'll be able to get those bigger
ones to bite doing that. And that's what really helped me
like excel in that area because it was so pressured and so
smart. I almost had to like literally a
single fish. I had to figure out how to catch
a single fish. Not all of them.
I went fish by fish, really honestly.

(22:55):
What is the most amount of baitsyou threw up?
1 fish. 5, Five, I'd say, because I threw, yeah.
Mano, mano, finesse, finesse. And then prop bait.
Yeah, Yeah, I'd say five, yeah. And it's hard because it's like

(23:15):
they can run from you too. And then you got to like, chase
them even harder. And then once they like
disappear, and some of them theydisappear.
I don't care how good you are. They're just gone.
Like a lot of them, I get real smart and they're just gone.
But like some of them I'll, I kind of wait them out.
Then you can see them pop back up and then they start hunting
again. Then they're like, I finally got
away from that guy. Then they'll come up off the

(23:36):
bottom and start looking like looking for mayflies or whatever
they're eating. And then that's when I then
that's when I would get another opportunity to catch them.
Can you tell like you know how sight anglers you can tell the
attitude of a fish? You can tell like as it starts
to OK, that fish is starting to get to the point where it's

(23:57):
going to eat. Can you tell that on a graph
when you look at a fish? I can get a good idea, you know,
like it's not like I can't see, oh, she flared here, here she
comes. But like I can, I could.
There's other signs, you know, like if it runs and hides and it
stays down for a little bit, then it's sitting there and I
know where she went, but I can'tsee her and I know she's there.

(24:19):
And sometimes you can throw yourbait over it.
She'll come up and see it. But a lot of times I'm I'm a
very patient person usually on that and I'll let him kind of
tell me like if it comes back upto the surface looking again,
that vicious still that's in a, you know, a little bit more
aggressive of a mood, you know, so that that's like it's all
percentage, you know, like if I see one that's a little bit more

(24:39):
aggressive, my percentages are obviously higher with that one.
I just got to find exactly what it wants because it's doing what
I want. It's just not biting.
So then I got to figure that out.
So you can, there's definitely ways that you definitely can.
I mean, there's a lot of different signs and things that
fish do that gives you that little bit of clue.
But yeah, there is definitely a certain amount of way that I can

(25:00):
definitely tell. Is it a more rewarding win for
you because you did it right in front of everybody?
Absolutely 100% when I, when I said like you know, I was so
stressed everything I didn't think about it.
I was just fishing and when I like set back and realize where
I had done it at, I was like, you know what I was like,
that's, I mean, that's crazy. You know, I didn't even I didn't

(25:23):
even know there's that many big fish there or whatever.
And you know, there was so many people fishing that like the
last day of the tournament, there was like 10 or 12 local
boats, like literally just fishing all around me, like all
day long. You know, every, every time I
either had people follow me and fishing or like, I mean, I want
to say they're the most courteous people, but, and we

(25:43):
were, they were like following me and fishing and even getting
in front of my drifts and stuff.I mean it, it was pretty wild.
And I just didn't let that get to me.
And I figured if I covered enough water and found a few of
the right fish out there, I could make it happen.
You know, in practice, I thoughtif I got a top 25, I'd be doing
good, you know, because big onesare like random and I couldn't

(26:06):
really tell what I was on because I'm not a small mouth
fisherman really. And like I just kind of fish
around catch 1 here and there. But once I realized how to like,
I guess maximize my little areas, like find spots on spots
on spots, pretty much is what what I would had to do to get
those consistent more bites. So it was pretty crazy.
Now that you like you say that, I was like, it's it is pretty

(26:28):
wild just right out there in theopen.
What's the over under? If the over under is 100 on how
many times you said, Oh my gosh on camera, what are you going
over or under? Oh, I did a lot.
I'm not going to lie. I didn't say it a lot.
I will say because it was funny.Brandon would say it, I would

(26:50):
say it. Brandon would say it, I would
say it. And we just kept feeding each
other and going back and forth. We get loud.
We'd get real soft and real loud.
Real soft and real loud. It was fun, yeah.
Today's high tech fishing world can be a real pain in the neck,
especially if you're running thewrong mount.
Beat Down Outdoors, they bring the graph to you and they

(27:11):
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Now back to the show. Brandon Fiend, your camera guy
you're talking about who's been with you for a lot of big
moments. I asked him what it was like and
he said he felt a different vibefrom you this time around.

(27:32):
Like it was more serious, like you, you, you were trying to
relax as hard as you could, but you're, you're at a very serious
point in the season. D Is that the correct analogy on
it? Definitely.
Yeah. You know, like sometimes I get
real quiet. He's like, dude, you got to
loosen up. I was like, I can't, I got, I

(27:54):
got focused. I got focused and I was like
telling myself, I was like, hangon.
I got to be chill. I got to be chill.
I can't be stressing. And then I, I get real tired or
wore out for a second, you know,you get a few, get a little bit
of water and you get some Red Bulls.
Then I'll be back to my normal self and get back.
And then all sudden, you know, I'd go on a spree where 5 or 6
would swerve me and I couldn't get on a bite.

(28:15):
And you know, I only had like, you know, solid, you know, 20 LB
bag. But I knew if I was going to
win, I had to have an upper class.
And there was definitely serious, big, serious moments
for sure. Like not a word said for, you
know, 30-40 minutes is a big deal for me.
You know, I usually talk to myself or talk to brand 24/7 and
that is when I go that long, youknow, I'm, I'm, I'm

(28:38):
concentrating for sure. How do you feel your career is
going? I feel like it's going good.
You know, the main thing is likeI thought you just got to learn,
you know, like and that's like I'm trying.
It's like maybe not in the fishing part of it is like even
sponsored, right. So like, I mean it's fishing,
you know, is that there's alwaysstuff to learn on that.

(29:00):
But like, I want to always be getting better at like the
business aspect of it too, you know, like, I don't, you know, I
don't know all the people that have, you know, I haven't been
in like contracts and all that stuff.
Like, I don't know if people's got good intentions, bad
intentions. Like, you know, it's, it's, you
know, when I see something flashy, I'm like, Oh, shiny, you
know, like I don't really know much about it.

(29:21):
And once that now, you know, I got to sit back and realize and
ask people that has done it for a long time.
And I feel like that's the main thing I got to learn now is, is
the main like how how to do the business part of fishing, not
just fishing, but like how to doall that side of things, like,
you know, not not hurry up and make it a dumb decision.

(29:41):
You know, that's, you know, it might be good for the money, but
it's not good. It doesn't fit me.
And that's that's what I think is going to be big these next,
you know, this year and next year and the year after that is
going to be, you know, just making the right decisions on
that part of the thing, you know, sorting, you know, my
sponsors now are absolutely phenomenal.

(30:02):
I couldn't ask for any better, you know, like they're all
family to me. And that's that's what I want to
keep. And I just I don't ever want to
get away from that. But, you know, money can do
cruel things. And that's what I'm trying to,
you know, stay and and make the right decisions.
If I can learn that, hopefully I'll be all right.
Do you feel you've grown a lot since your rookie season?
Are you a much different human? Feel like it, you know, like I

(30:26):
feel like I'm, you know how thisyear I've been trying to, you
know, no matter if it's if it over stresses me or what, you
know, like I usually, you know, all that stuff that happened all
that like I it's not that I'm meant to do any of it.
You know, it's I get in my own head and I'm just worried about
catching fish, right, Like that's it, you know, that's
that's all I thought about. I didn't think about anything

(30:47):
else but my next spot. And now this year, you know, I'm
learning to maybe if it only if it maybe cost me 3 minutes to be
a little bit more prepared and think thanks through a little
bit, maybe that won't be the endof the world.
You know, like, come on Trey, like just a little bit longer.
And I feel like it has helped mea lot this year.
You know, we've we haven't done,you know, anything and we're

(31:09):
trying to walk that straight line and not, you know, make
them silly mistakes that last year, you know, cost is big.
And you know, that's what the nervous thing is, even if I like
even this next term, you know, maybe if I don't even try, it's
something, something could happen, you know, even on
accident. So it's got, you know, it's got
me stressed out because you little 1 little little bitty
thing that you don't think anything of can, you know, take

(31:31):
it all. You know, that's the thing that
I think makes me nervous that, you know, it can be 1 phone
call. It will be 1 one no wake Boo.
It could be anything, you know. So it's it is, it's a lot to a
lot to think about for sure. Was that a really tough pill to
swallow last year? Like I mean, I think publicly
you showed pretty well, but I know inside that's not always

(31:55):
matches the same as what people see in public.
No, no, I could have torn down. I wish, I wish somebody would
have just let me go and demolishlike somebody's demolishing the
house. I would say like here you go,
try here, just let you ever go for it.
And I just go, you know, like because it, it did it hurt, you
know, because I work, I work so hard for that.
And even this year, you know, I've worked on, I mean, I

(32:18):
haven't been home to home 1-2 days or three days since
January. And you know, that's all, all I
hit, hit that goal, you know, and when, when we had it, you
know, we had it and then we justpoof gone.
And that, that's, that was, you know, it's big, big pill to
swallow for sure. And I know, I mean, I've done
it, you know, it's, it's nothingthat I can, I can, you know, I'm

(32:39):
not blaming on nobody. You know, it was all me and
that's what I got to realize and, you know, keep, keep that
from ever happening again now. I joked with you going in the
offseason. I said read, read the rules,
Just keep reading. And if you're done reading,
like, so do you, does that change for you?
Like when the rules come out, are you like, have you become

(33:01):
the ultimate stickler? Hi, I'll try.
I'll be honest. I'm not a great reader, you
know, I'm not, I was not. You know, it's school, you know,
I just don't even know, you know, we, we know we got our
home school for a little bit andthen fishing and hunting was a
little bit more important since school and 11th and 12th, but
we're not going to go there. But yeah, you know, I'm, I'm, I

(33:23):
can read, you know, one word and1 syllable.
And I, I didn't. Mean good to read.
I mean, has it become more important to you to make sure
you read? Oh, 100 percent, 100%.
And Lisa does great, she says. He's like little videos and
stuff and I get to watch those so I don't have to read it.
So she tells me. So I get that.

(33:45):
That helps a lot too, because like if I hear it, because I
might be one of the purposes, itcan read something and not get
anything out of it, but I can listen to it and then I've got
it like it's in my brain. So those help a lot.
She sends those out briefings and stuff before the tournaments
that I always listen to now and it's it helps a lot for sure.

(34:06):
Has that what happened last year, has that driven you a lot
this year? Because before I even brought it
up earlier in our conversation, you said after what happened
last year, like how often do youthink of that?
Like not not like. Just what could have been.
Oh, 100%, you know, like, I mean, you know, I, I don't care

(34:29):
about all the records and everything, you know, but you
know, that would have been, thatwould have been crazy, you know,
like that would have been, that would have been 1 crazy, crazy
thing, you know, to do it at 19.And you know, I've only got a
few more years left to be able to break that.
And that's it does it definitelydid drive me, you know, after,

(34:49):
after duck season, the ducks were flying everywhere and we're
killing them every day. And I was like, boys, I'm sorry,
but I got to go. It's time to hit the road.
Jack and I packed up everything and I got me a camper.
As you got to see that's what I'm in right now.
I got my camper and that's what we've been just travelling
across the world all year. It's how do you feel you fit

(35:16):
into the Elite series? I don't know.
Last year I didn't fit in real great.
You know, I believe, I don't think we were big buddies.
But this year I feel like, you know, I've seen seen some guy
like Brian Smith dude, that guy's awesome.
Like literally, you know, he is just the same you always every

(35:36):
time you see him, same deal. Super nice.
Do anything in the world for youand I do anything more for him.
Like, you know, there's a lot ofguys on elite series that are
great dudes, like just amazing fellas.
And you know, there's something that's not so amazing as well.
You know, there's, it's always, it's just life And no, but I
think overall it's been a lot more welcoming this year.

(35:58):
You know, like overall I feel like, I feel like it's been a, a
huge step from last year. Like I can generally have a
conversation with somebody and they'll talk to me, you know,
like, you know what, we can actually talk together and it's
it, it has been, it's been, it makes me feel nice to, you know,
it's like they, they care enoughto actually like talk.
So it's been really good. In your rookie season, was there

(36:20):
people that that wouldn't talk to you?
I mean, yeah, a lot of them didn't really care to Yeah, you
know, it'd be, I'd ask him big quite a bit.
Yep. Just turn around and, you know,
they off they go. I'd be like, oh, OK, you know,
it's just like it's and maybe maybe I did talk a lot, you
know, maybe that they were like,you know, maybe they had a bad
day fishing or something. I'm, you know, just talking and

(36:42):
they're, you know, it's not the greatest time to do that
probably. But so I get it.
There's times for talking and times for not.
But now there is some guys on there that's just amazing guys
like really is. And that's what, you know, every
time I'm on there and the longerI'm on there, I get to realize
who those guys are, you know, that, you know, instead of
including myself with everybody,you know, I include myself with

(37:03):
the right people instead of the wrong people.
And you know, the longer I'm on there, I feel like the more I
realize who's the right people for me.
Was that a tough pill to swallowin your first season?
I mean, I think most kids paint a storybook of like, I'm going
to show up somewhere, I'm going to catch them, and it's going to
be a Disney movie. And when it's not that, is that

(37:25):
tough to deal with? Yeah, it definitely was, you
know, like, because I thought everybody's going to be like
goody, goody, like a warm welcome.
And, you know, hey, we're all made it to the elite series.
Let's celebrate, but not quite, you know, there's it wasn't
quite that, but yeah, it was a big pill.
You know, I was like looking up to all these guys that I've, you
know, look through and when I was younger went to weigh into

(37:48):
theirs and saw all these guys and, you know, you get there
and, you know, it's not that warm welcome.
You're like, oh, OK, you know, like this is awesome.
And you kind of then you kind ofrealize who you, who you need to
stay close to and who you need to ask for just wise answers and
who you need to just kind of keep your distance from.

(38:08):
So it definitely was a, it was alittle hard to swallow at first
because I didn't realize, you know, I was just just try.
Do you think that'll change who you are when you're a veteran?
Yeah, I think so, because I've seen it from all angles, you
know, like, you know, I've, I'veseen, I've been the new guy.
I know how it feels when people,you know, kind of look at you

(38:30):
differently and you know, maybe not welcome you as much.
And, and hopefully, you know, what if if I do and I hope for
my long career, hopefully that when those guys do come in and I
and I can see that they're feeling the same way.
Maybe that, you know, I can be the guy that maybe can help him
through some stuff because, you know, it's, it's only a sign
because, you know, the guys thatdone me, if I wouldn't have

(38:51):
those and I just be like, you know, just kind of grouchy to
everybody as well. Nobody likes me blah blah.
You know that sad sob story and.What are your goals?
Like What? What, what?
I mean, it's easy to say I just want to fish for a living.
But I think with what you've achieved in the first two years,

(39:12):
you're obviously driven for moreand you're not satisfied, so
you're obviously driven for more.
What? Like when you close your eyes
and dream of 10 years from now, 15 years from now, what does
your career look like? And I I don't want to be like,
you know, it's it's there the fine line between being cocky
and you know, and all that stuff.
But like and I don't I don't want to ever come across like

(39:34):
that. But you know, it's Sky's the
limit. You know, I I don't want to do
is as good as I possibly can, you know, like I'm going to work
as hard and whether that means when one, when 2, when 5, when
10, when 15, it don't. You know, it's as many as I can
and, and doing it the right way and do it the right way.

(39:57):
And you know, however it ends up, you know how and if it's
great, good in the middle. I'm shooting for the sky.
Honestly, just anything and everything, you know, just kind
of, you know, I always want to say, you know, the classic angle
of the year, stuff like that. I just want to hopefully be able
to stay it in long enough that Ihave a chance to, you know, put

(40:19):
myself. In contention for one of those
titles, you know, cuz that's manwith those titles mean so much.
You know, you can't ever take that away from somebody.
Those are those are as big as itgets.
And you know, it's, you know, I don't, I don't ever want to be
satisfied just because, you know, you might not slack off,
but you get, you know, you just get, I guess, get satisfied.

(40:41):
Honestly, you just kind of slackoff and you know, and at some
point, you know, I'm going to have to, you know, whether I
quit pre fishing or whatever else like that, you know, it at
some point I'm going to have to have a, you know, another life,
you know, doing, doing other stuff, living, doing all, you
know, and you know, I can't be fishing all the time or else

(41:01):
that you know, it would be all Iever do, which is fine because I
love it. But at some point in time to
just to keep the balance right, You know, at some point we'll
definitely have to change a little bit.
I don't know what that'll be yet, but 100%, I guess just kind
of let the cards fall where theywill.
We're definitely going to work as hard as we can though.

(41:23):
Do you have a life outside of fishing now?
Do you like what percentage of your life is dedicated to solely
catching a bass? Yeah, pretty much, yeah.
I mean it's like when I'm not fishing, I'm either shooting and
when I'm not shooting I'm fishing.
So like if I, if I'm, I mean, I'm learning about one or the 2

(41:44):
and that's it literally like that's, that's it.
Like I got my lanyard right nextto my bed.
I blow my duck calls when I'm can't go to sleep and I'm
learning how to do other cool stuff on it.
And I mean, that's just that's pretty well my life really, and
I love it. I wouldn't change any different.
You know, I never wanted to be somebody that I just want to do
what I love. And that's, those are the two

(42:05):
things I love, like genuinely love, no matter what day,
whether it's hot out, whether it's 0° take 0 even gets me five
more fired up duck. And I'd rather be 0.
And I mean, it's, it's just two loves that I have in the
outdoors that hey, I don't even think they cut off my left arm.
I'd still be out there doing it.I mean, it's just, it's just one
of them loves that I don't, I don't think anybody could ever

(42:27):
take away from me. As a tournament angler, you fish
the way you have to fish to win in every situation.
I mean, you guys always let the fish decide, but if you could
decide if you could catch a bassone way, what would it be?
Chick got to be got to be. I mean, like I love like either,

(42:52):
like I mean, heck, I love it when you throw it out there and
you're like touching every limb of a brush pile, like, you know
what I'm saying, like and I justbrush my we're talking anything
like when you touching every limb of everything, you come
over and also and it and it slowly start swimming off and
you RIP his lips off and drag him to the boat like ever boat

(43:15):
flipping, whether it's a 5 or 8 pounder.
Some of that that it don't get any better than that.
I mean frog and all that's gorgeous and awesome, but they
miss it when a big old jig just don't and they start swimming
sideways. I just giggle inside.
You know, it's like I gotcha, you know, it's just it's that's
just one of them baits. It's my comfort zone.
I've hey, I've done more money on that than anything and I've

(43:38):
I've got more stuff back home ona jig than anything.
It's whether it's dragging it real close down a lay down,
whether the lines almost catching in the grooves of the
tree and you got a dirty water. I mean it just they don't get no
better than a big jig. Like I just can't.
I get just it's awesome. It don't matter like and my
favorite, because Rick used to always laugh at me, I'd flip in

(43:59):
that big old Bush and that bushes shake or whatever.
I'd set the hook and dude, I'd try to pull that Bush out of the
ground like I I don't care if itit get all hung up and sometimes
it's not the best to pull. And one time I remember I threw
parade and son, I thought I was Superman.
I was trying to just RIP every limb off that Bush and we go up

(44:20):
there. And then also you just barely
got to give him a little slack and he swims right out of the
Bush. And I don't know.
I've just had so many good memories on a jig.
I it it would have to be have tobe.
I want to ask you a straight up question because people have
wondered this for a long time. Can you catch them without Ford
facing sonar? That's funny.

(44:43):
I was like, I mean, all the people know back home, you know
that they know that I wasn't even a Ford facing guy really
like is all the BFLS that we fished and I fished and it's all
the guys back home. I mean, there was only like, I
think one out of the the number of them that I had had ended up
winning back home. And like all of them were, you

(45:05):
know, flipping bushes, flipping lay down, flipping at rent Lake
Shelbyville, flipping timber up at Shelbyville.
They they know what I'm talking about.
If they watch this back here in a little creeks back here, that
little high water back here on the Super tournament.
I mean all them tournaments wereflipping and jigging and all
that stuff. And you know, it's I feel like I

(45:25):
I'll be able to hold my own. You know, maybe like now, don't
get me wrong, like stuff that I don't know how to do, like, you
know, like giant armors, reservoirs or something going,
but I'll figure out some way that I can compete, you know,
like whether I mean I might not be all as good as just go side
scanning out in the middle of the lake and find a giant here
mega school. But so I love it for sure.

(45:49):
I just like feeling a bite and not knowing it's coming.
So you like that The the mysterythat Yeah, that's what I.
Don't understand. I love treating every piece of
wood and every cover I flip my jig to like it's got a 5 pounder
on it. That's why I used to always say
whether I know or not it's got a5 pounder on it.

(46:09):
Just know that, you know, like you got to treat every piece of
cover. You flip, flip, flip, flip, real
consistent. And that's how I used to always
fish. And Rick would always tell me
he's like, now why'd you really dig real fast out of there?
I was like, well, I didn't thinkI had fish.
He's like, no, he said every layDown's got a £5 on them.
I was like, oh, OK. Then I started catching more
fish because I fish it all the way to the end, you know, or I'd

(46:30):
fish it better, I'd make an extra pitch.
Oh, absolutely. I love it when a when a bike's
not, you don't know what's coming all sudden, it just
slowly starts cruising off and you got four in a box and you
need 15 big one and you said thehook and she just waters out of
there. And I was like, oh, you can't
beat that. Absolutely.
This next topic I don't know if you're comfortable in talking

(46:51):
about or not, but I'm throw it out there and do you hear the
haters? Do I?
Oh, yeah. I think it's funny.
Like it's a lot of it. Like some of the comments, like
I, I can't even believe it. Like how do you even come up
with that? Like honestly, like it's so far
off that when I read it, I'm just like it, it makes me

(47:12):
giggle. Like I'm just like, Dang, that's
rough. But you know, like that's,
that's crazy. I mean, some of them definitely
do they catch me off guard. Like some of them I'll just be
scrolling down through there andI'm like, wow, what's this one?
And I get to reading it and I'llsee.
And I was like, Dang, dude, thatif I if I would have let that
one hurt me, that would have hurt, you know.

(47:35):
But now it's, I mean, if I look at it, just it all, it just
dragged me down. I mean, I got, you know, I just,
yeah, it's, it is what it is. And like everybody gets a little
bit of it, you know, some peopleget a little more, but it's
definitely, it's funny. And like I saw Luke Graham, he
post a video the other day that was real positive.

(47:56):
You know, that was, that was pretty cool to get to see that
and see a lot of positive comments on there.
I mean, it seems like, you know,a lot of people are, you know,
it's starting to get nicer. You know, overall it seems to be
getting a rise in my spirits a little bit other than drag them
down. So that's always a good thing.

(48:17):
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the Shed family donate at least 10% of the company's profits to
conservation and making fishing better.
Now back to the show. So it has drug you down at times
in the past. I think that's.
Like a bad day, like if I'm justout to get somebody like today's

(48:41):
the day, like I'm just mad. Like, you know, we all have them
days and you go through and you read them and I'm just like,
wow, that really at home. Dang, bro, I'm like, actually,
why do you have to say that? Like really?
And like if you let it get to me, like very few days it does.
But if I'm just upset, you know,just kind of grouchy and and I
do read it wrong or something, it it might touch a little

(49:02):
feeling I'm going to prove that guy wrong.
Like try to like, you know, justa get back attitude, which is
not good. You don't know whatever needs to
get that. But I'm I'm human.
It happens. Do you you, I mean, I think
maybe you just answered that or maybe you didn't do, do those
things sit in your head and you do you use them as motivation or

(49:22):
do you just are you much healthier than I?
No, I mean I'm definitely not much healthier.
I mean I definitely like like everyone's phone when I catch
one on big jig and both women like take that, you know what
I'm saying? Like yeah, get you some like
definitely like I definitely useit as fuel sometimes, but I I
you shouldn't. I mean I I don't need to, but it

(49:44):
I definitely do sometimes. I think it's natural.
I think it's natural. I mean, I'm man enough to admit
that. I mean, there's so many little
things like, you know, how I start to weigh in with let's get
ready to weigh him. The whole reason that started is
when I first started, some guy wrote some big long things
saying how he hated my guts as an announcer because I

(50:05):
introduced the anglers, like their prize fighters and, you
know, I need to go get a job at WWE or whatever.
And I responded to and I said, I'm sorry you feel that way.
But if you do feel that way, youshould watch today's weigh in.
And that's when I started. Let's get ready to weigh them
just simply. I mean, so yeah, I mean, I think

(50:30):
it's normal. I think it's normal that.
I mean, I've heard stories over the years of many athletes and
people who have used like who print them out and read you, you
know, because hey, you're going to and that's the truth in life.
Like those ones sting a little more.
But I mean, I think it's very unnatural how you've had to deal
with it. Like I sometimes I look at your

(50:53):
situation and I'm like, and I get it.
You're 20 and I and I get the, the naysayers will say, well,
he's 20. You know, he's a man you
shouldn't, but you're still justdude, you were, you're pretty
freaking young to be doing what you're doing.
Is there any part of you that that thinks how maybe I should
have waited a few years? Or was that not even an option?

(51:16):
No, not really. Like I was like, you know, if
we're going to go for it, might as well go for it.
I mean, if I start this young, Igot that many more years to
learn. Heck, we're waiting.
You know, like I just took it asthat's just I got more years to
learn and, and learning in this part of my life is going to be
way more important than learningfor to me.
I think, you know, I might take more from it maybe that it might

(51:39):
show me and I might see things differently too, which can be a
good thing. And I can see things in immature
way that can also be a bad thing.
But I mean, there's, there's a lot of different ways.
But I think it, I think it was, I think it was the right time to
jump. You know, it's a little scary at
first, but sometimes I say when it's scary, it's the right time.
But who knows? I mean, statistically you can't

(52:00):
argue with it. It seems to have worked out
pretty good. What is your What is your
greatest strength as an angler? To me, I personally, I think
like like fishing technique was yeah, I'd say jig yeah,
honestly, like I got me a littlejig that when I put it in the

(52:23):
hand and I just go fishing. I fish with it so much that it
just it's a flow like that little baby, that little that
little thing man, it gets gets around, you know like it it just
it's how it cast. It's how I've you know, I've
thrown it so much that when I went when it's a bite that you

(52:43):
know, a 16 to 20 LB bag and I know I can put that thing in my
hand and just go that's I feel like I'm I'm pretty deadly when
it's come to that. If I of course, if I can find a,
but I'm definitely with that, with that little, that little
jig, I think I'm I'm that's probably my strongest.
What's your greatest weakness? Greatest weakness.

(53:09):
What's something I despise doing?
Some I do not like. That's a bad thing.
I've had to come so well-roundednow.
Like learn everything trying to think of something I just do not
like. Like no matter what, shoot, I

(53:30):
don't know, probably. Like at all.
I really do like, you know, whenI was younger, I would say Adi
Adi spy. It's a jerk bait.
Well, then fork changed my mind.I love a jerk right now and then
like a man. I didn't even throw a man until
like in the last season. Then this season, like,

(53:50):
honestly, I didn't even throw itthat much.
And yeah, I mean, now it's like I've got to use everything to
stay consistent. That heck it, you learn to love
everything 'cause if you don't, then you're just burning
yourself. And honestly, like, I get hang
on, I got it. Like now, now it's going to
sound really, really bad. OK.

(54:12):
So like, you know, like endless,endless grass mats, like.
Like mill slipping for miles. Miles like I'm talking you just
want to just drown like miles like for at like Guntersville
just forever and you're going tofind a 5 feet place that is

(54:34):
that's the only place in three miles you can get bit that I
don't know why I just can't stayfocused like because it all
looks the same, like flipping bank cover.
Oh, I'm in like all day long, 5 bytes a day I'm in.
But for some reason, out there fishing at just miles of it, I

(54:54):
just can't. Like it just burns my brain like
burns it because I guess it's not that yet.
It's because I haven't learned how to do it yet.
I just go out there and do it right.
Like I don't know why they're there.
I haven't learned like how to find hard spots and stuff in the
grass. Like a lot of people just pull
up and be like this ditch right here, this mat right here,

(55:16):
that's where they're going to be.
I haven't learned that yet. I, I, I haven't had any places
where I've been able to learn because I only went to
Guntersville one time and scarred myself for life for it
because I flipped for 2 1/2 daysstraight and have like 6 bites.
So yeah, I would say that is what really is my weakness, just
because I haven't learned it yet.

(55:36):
But one day I'm going to go downthere for like a week, I'm going
to learn it, and then hopefully I won't hate it no longer.
So what's the difference betweenthat and Sinclair?
Just the fact that you could seethem on forward face and Stoner,
I guess. So it eliminates the.
It's not match. It's like if there's sand spots
and like, you know, like there, that grass is different because

(55:58):
it's just like literally I had to pick up my troll motor every
five feet because it just gets wrapped around.
I don't know what it is. I just do not like that.
But no Saint Clair's the weirdest place I've ever been to
like for sure, definitely because they can just be
anywhere. They don't have any cover.
They they have no contours, literally nothing that makes
sense is them like nothing. And so that definitely played

(56:20):
with me and that's why I just stayed in the Bay.
I was like, I got no no idea howto find them out there and flat
nothingness. I was like, I have no idea.
I was like, I might as well juststay in a Bay like heck with it,
right? I was like, you know, I read on
it and all that stuff or not read, but watch videos and stuff
on the line and I see that, you know, anchor, right, Anchor,
right? I was like, oh, I was like, it's

(56:41):
got to have big ones, right? So I was like, I'm just going to
fish for them. And then I got in there and then
I called a 613 in practice and Iwas like, it's got big ones.
I was like, I'm standing here the whole practice and that's
just what I've done. And that's, that's what I feel
like I'm really good at as well as just instead of trying to do
it all over, I find the best area that fits me.
I feel like, and then literally just do everything like fish

(57:04):
everywhere offshore, in shore, up the Creek, out of the Creek
at the mouth of it. Like that's one thing I feel
like it's really strong to see once I pick an area, I just, I
just know I have to find them. Like I just I got to somewhere
they are here and I'll have a chance to do pretty good off of
them if I can find them. So that definitely thank
goodness I took that approach orI'd have been lost out there and

(57:24):
nothing less. You said you had to jerk bait
when you were a kid. What were you like when you were
a kid? Like what?
What is a 12 year old Trey McKinney like?
Just threw a jig all day. That was it.
That was it. I just threw my jig all day
long. That was all I knew what to do.
I threw my jig and that was pretty much it to be honest.

(57:44):
Like all day, no matter if I wasfishing offshore, inshore
flipping, I mean, I got really even over mats and stuff and
drop it in a little holes and catch 1 like that.
And I mean literally that's justwhat I've done.
Like I found that jig and ever since then that's just all I
threw and that's all. And everything else was like
weird to me, you know, like a jerk bait like back in the day

(58:06):
or not back in the day. I know that sounds bad.
People are going to be like, Oh my gosh, you know, 20 years old.
But when I was younger you had to jerk a jerk bait and let it
sink or let it sit for like, youknow, 1520 seconds.
So I was a heck of that. I mean, that's boring as ever.
I don't even know if there's a fish around, you know, I'm not
going to just let it sit there. So I just always threw a jig and
that's why I didn't like a jerk bait.

(58:28):
But when forward facing, I started learning forward facing.
I was like, I can see them. Like why would I not throw a
jerk bait, you know? And then I learned how to throw
a jerk bait and now it's one of my baddest Arsenal baits.
So, but when you were 12, this was your plan, right?
Like what you're doing. You had already figured this out
because I see videos of you fishing with like Andy

(58:51):
Montgomery and I No, no, who'd you Andy Morgan Van Morehead
like? But that was all just part of
the like, Hey, I'm going to fishwith these guys and I'm I'll be
I'm eight years away from being a pro.

(59:11):
I don't know about that. You know, I didn't I didn't know
what the future held by any means, but you know, definitely
for sure, like, you know, all them guys around home that was
just kind of the people because Annie Morgan and you know, he
haunted. So, you know, Rick got to know
him through like because he usedto film hunting shows and stuff.
So he got to know him and he's like, yeah, you know, I'll take
him fishing and, you know, we'llfilm something.

(59:32):
And, you know, like Drew Cook, Imean, honestly, where I learned
to bed fish was with Drew Cook. Like to be honest, like, I mean,
Rick knew how to bed fish and heand he taught me a lot.
But where I mean, like a lot of the stuff that I even do to
nowadays to even catch those fish is what Drew Cook showed
me. Like literally in that TV show,

(59:53):
he was kind of showing me like what to look for, how to bed
fish for him. And then I took that and ran
with it. And honestly, like he showed me
a lot about bed fishing and we were in the bag the other day.
He's like, you know, I wouldn't have showed you if I knew you
were going to be here. And so it's, he's a good dude
too. You know, he gives me the
straight up truth every time I talk to him, you know, he'll

(01:00:13):
look me in the eye and be like, don't do something dumb.
I was like, I know I'm going to try like I promise.
And so he, he's been really niceto me as well, whether it's the
hurtful truth or whether it's a great truth, you know, and that
I, I respect that more than anything.
But yeah, it was, that was a great time in my life to kind of
realize what these guys were going through and learn from

(01:00:35):
them honestly, like, because I mean, that's that's what they
done, you know, like Drew Cook and Drew Benton, you know,
they're, they're the bad fishingguys, like 100%.
So you taking a little bit from,I mean, you, you're kind of a
created weird science angler. I don't know.
You don't know the movie Weird Science, but it was this movie

(01:00:55):
where they, these two guys got acomputer and they created the
perfect woman. Yeah.
But that kind of happened with you where you took a little
piece from each of these different anglers that you
fished with when you were 12 years old and you were fishing
with them. I mean, the average 12 year old
is like just happy to be fishingand casting around hoping to

(01:01:18):
catch one. Were you actually absorbing
knowledge at that time? Like, can you remember thinking
about like, I'm here to learn orwas it just the experience?
No, yeah. I mean, I can.
I can. I can definitely learn because
you know, Rick, Rick helped me so much because he's like, he's
like, you know, just you got to be a sponge.
He's like, if you want to be good and you want to do this

(01:01:39):
dream that you're always tellingme about, he's like, you got to
be a sponge. And he's like, you know, these
opportunities, you might only get one opportunity to fish with
your cook and you better make the most of it.
Whether you're listening, learning however you want to do
it, but you need to learn because I mean, this guy is
he's, you know, you're fortunateenough for this guy to, to want

(01:01:59):
to take you out and film, you know, the next generation with
us and show you. I mean, he might not show you
everything, but he's going to show you something that can make
you better. And, you know, all them guys
that I fish with, I was, you know, I mean, Andy Morgan, like,
I mean, he skipped all day. And like, I think I don't even
know if he missed once. Like, I mean, just, I mean, just

(01:02:19):
smooth as butter. I was like, one day that is
going to be me now me when I come up to a pontoon, I might
ring the dinner bell a few times, but it's all right.
We're getting better. But yeah, it is that dude is
crazy good at that. Like, I can still remember.
I mean just a little bit of gap,I mean just right underneath, I
mean all the way to the back. And I mean I would go to the any

(01:02:40):
local lakes that we are allowed to fish docks because Lake of
Egypt, we can't fish docks. And I would go there and skip
all day just underneath docks, underneath trees, underneath all
sorts of stuff just to get the skipping game down.
And then right there I added skipping.
Now I could skip a jig and then I then I could flip a jig, then
I could pitch a jig and then I can cast a jig and then I can

(01:03:02):
drag a jig and I can swim a jig.You know, it just never ended.
And on learning all these techniques and how to fish them,
what to do with them and you know, so and Rick's like you
don't need to have a weakness. And I was like, well, I was
like, and then I like at that time, you know, I don't like a
jerk bait. I don't like all those weird,
like the greatest baits ever. I just didn't like because I
didn't understand how to use them.

(01:03:23):
And thank goodness now I've beengetting where, you know, heck, I
throw a nine and 10 inch glide bait, I throw a 2 inch men out,
I throw a jig like I can do, youknow, like that's one thing I've
tried to learn what to do is to be able to do everything, you
know, maybe not as good as people, but where I can at
least. Compete What age were you and

(01:03:45):
Rick came into your life? Oh, shoot, yeah, it would be
something around there, maybe like 11 something like that.
I mean, I mean, I was young, like I was really young.
Like I don't I don't remember how young and what the identical
dates and stuff. But I mean I was young, I was

(01:04:06):
really young. Like, you know, Rick, he just
had his John boat and you know, it was a you know, kind of are
you use it for duck hunting or you could use it for fishing.
And that's what me and him fish out of, you know, all the time.
That's what because I didn't have a boat yet.
And you know, he had, he had hisaluminum with A50 Honda on it
and just a regular min coda. And you know, our marker buoys,

(01:04:30):
you know all about them. So we have, we have four of
them. And we had one, one graph on the
back and one little graph on front.
And we'd idle over a point and kick one off on the tip.
And we'd idle off the side, kickone off, idle up on top, kick
one off and then kick one off onthe opposite side.
So when we step back and start fishing it, then we knew what
we're fishing. And then we then, then that's

(01:04:52):
how he taught me how to fish offshore is he's like, he's
like, I might not be the best atit, but he's, at least I can try
to show you. And like, once he showed me that
and like how to understand what you're fishing.
And you know, we'd throw a hard head and just drag around on the
point till we found the lineup. And then once we had found the
lineup, he'd be like, I where'd you cast when you had that bite?

(01:05:12):
I was like right there at that tree and I'd cast back and I'd
get another bite and then he'd get a bite and then I'd get a
bite. And then that's just how I, how
I learned, you know, it was, it's pretty awesome because I've
been able to see both sides of it.
You know, all the technology from that to to now, you know,
it was, it's been, it's been awesome, to be honest.
Do you look at him? I mean, I think weirdly enough,

(01:05:35):
he gets wrongly portrayed your relationship with that.
I mean, I don't even know Rick. I don't know if I've ever met
him, but in my head, he's no different than a college coach.
Except you didn't go to college.Yeah.
Do you look at him like that? I mean, honestly, like, you
know, a lot of people ask like, hey, what do I think of Rick?

(01:05:56):
I mean, he's honestly like family like now, like no, Rick
is like 100% like in a group. Like honestly, like if he was
going to leave for Rick, I'll belike, dude, I'm going to miss
you. I love you.
Come back, I'll see you when youget here.
Like literally like family as itgets, honestly.
And it's, it's pretty special tobe able to make a friendship

(01:06:18):
like that, that it turns into something.
And you know, it's, it's pretty special.
Like, honestly, if I was going to get emotional like that would
be something about it's like just our journey like that we've
took all over the world, you know, like, and he didn't take
nothing for it, you know, like honestly, like nothing for it at
all. And he took five years out of

(01:06:39):
his life to travel around with me.
I mean, literally like, I mean, he didn't, didn't get nothing
from it. And it's, it's, it's honestly, I
can ever thank him enough for that.
I mean, he would, he, me and himwould go.
And heck, we've won three boats together and, you know, and just
going all over and hanging out. We were, he was teaching me then

(01:07:00):
we are partners, then we are learning together.
And then now, now it's like, andhe's like, it's time for you to
go on your own. I was like, oh gosh, I was like,
I don't know about this. And then we just kind of kind of
went on and he's a, you know, I'll call him, you know, every
other day. I'm like, what's going on, Rick?
It's like fixing, fixing my tractor or, you know, he, he was

(01:07:22):
fishing a little local stuff at home.
So I've been keeping up with himfishing at home.
Either he's fishing on rent or crab or something like that.
So I say of all relationships, man, that's, that's been, that's
been long, it's been a special one.
It really has like for sure. What does he have to say about
how your career is going? He's like, I mean, he's he's one

(01:07:46):
of the he is, he does everythingthe right way, you know, like he
is he's a Christian man as it gets and you know, he's just
he's like he never, he never wants to blow my head up.
You know, nothing like that. He's just, he's like you just
keep doing things right and that's all.
That's all he tells me. He's like, you just just keep
doing things right, just just like we done and I was like you

(01:08:08):
right. And then that's that's it.
We just we talked about just on what?
What about the next tournament, you know, after however it
finishes out, he's like, yeah, well, you tried however, either
if you want or if you got 4th or5th, he's like still do things
right now. What about the next now what now
what's playing, you know, And soit's it's, it's great, dude.

(01:08:29):
In the last two years, I think you've made nine top 10s, which
is ridiculous, but what comes with that is more scrutiny than
maybe any other angler. How many truth verification
tests do you think you've taken in the last two years?
But I have no idea. I mean, it's, it's unbelievable.

(01:08:51):
I've had my fingers and the buttplate they make you sit on to
make sure you're not moving around.
And I mean, I honest I would. Make you sit on a butt plate.
Yeah I do. I've never taken 1.
Well, you need to, we need to get you hooked up.
We're asking funny questions, though.
We're not going to ask you aboutfishing.
We're going to ask you life questions like have you ever?

(01:09:17):
No, but yeah, it is man. It's it's nerve wracking.
Like they ask you about all yourwhole life.
Like, they're like, yeah, I got the last guy at 10 killer.
I got took one at 10 killer, too.
And he's like, he's like, you know, he's like, I just want to
get to know you. I was like, I don't really want
to, you know, get to know you. And he sit there and we just
talk and he's like, all right, we're ready to take it.

(01:09:37):
Now. I'm like, oh, now we're serious,
huh? He's like, Yep, serious.
I was like, OK. And yeah, you sit on the little,
the little plate in your seat. And if you move, he can tell
that you're like nervous. And then like, I don't know, I
guess it deducts points on. Yeah, I don't know what it does,
but yeah, it's I sit still as a church mass.
I know that. So how many do you think you've
taken? I don't know.

(01:09:58):
I took 2, two or three this yearalready and then last year I
took way more than I did this year.
So I probably, I'm going to guess I took 4445 last year and
two or three this year already. So you're most likely the most

(01:10:19):
tested pro and fishing at least in the elites.
Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
I've, I've had to take a lot of them for sure.
Like, a lot. Outrageously amount, honestly.
Does that bother you or is that just part of the?
Cost of I don't know, I guess don't bother me, but it's just
like, man, how many times do youguys have tested me to like

(01:10:41):
realize like, you know, I was like, I mean, I'm sorry, but if
you were going to do anything orfind anything, I think you would
have found it by now. I was like, heck, I'm more
liable to fail one just because I took so Dang many of them.
Heck, at some point, I mean, heck, I'm a lie to my mom or
something. It's going to go off or
something. I mean, I don't even know.
I mean it's it's crazy like it really is.

(01:11:05):
It's just kind of like, I mean now honestly, I'm not even
puzzled. I'm just like, Yep, all right,
meet you there in 30. Like it's just kind of a I'm
just like, whatever, it's all right, I get it.
You know, it's type of thing because somebody will say
something or at the at the tournament be like, Oh yeah,
Trey, he definitely got waypoints or something
outrageous like that. And Lisa, you know, that's,

(01:11:26):
that's just her job. It's not her fault.
Nothing like that at all. You know, she's got to do
something because she's obligated to do something,
right, Just in case if it is right or whatever, which is of
course is not. And we get in there and she's
like, well, I, I got to give youa lot of texts.
I'm like, that's all right. I was like, where you want me to
go? And she'll let you know, go to

(01:11:46):
the hotel. I'll be there at 7:00.
I was like, OK, Lisa, see you there.
You know, it's just kind of a it's all right.
I get it. It's part, it's part of her job.
And it's, I mean, all the peoplethat send all that stuff in, I
don't know. I don't know how I feel about
them, but yeah, it's definitely,it's definitely been a lot.
It is. It does get aggravating after a
little bit because it's like, when are they going to give up,

(01:12:07):
right? Like is there a time in my
career where, you know, people are just going to just kind of
let just not be doing all the ignorant stuff and all that
because I mean, I just, I just don't get a lot of times, but
it's not my time to, you know, stand up against it or whatever.
I just let it blow off and I know I didn't do anything wrong

(01:12:28):
so I guess I'll just go take it.I've run a Yamaha outboard for
over 30 years. It has got me home safe each and
every time. If you enjoy this podcast,
remember Yamaha supports it and they care enough about you to
make this ad read very short. Now back to the show.
It's a good attitude. I mean, I think it's also kind

(01:12:50):
of the price of what you're accomplishing.
I mean, you've made more top 10's and guess what, you've
taken more lie detectors and. Yes, Sir.
The person that fights for the title the most generally gets
tested the most. And what did that near win at
the Classic do to you? Did that inspire you or did it

(01:13:13):
Rock You for a little bit? Like the next day?
Did you wake up and be like 10? I almost freaking won the
classic. Yeah, I did, man, because I was
on the fish too. I was like, Dang it, Trey.
I was like one day I was like I literally had the biggest bag
day one when I weighed in and the biggest bag day three when I
weighed in. And then the middle day I just I

(01:13:33):
don't know if I just fell off. I don't even know what happened.
And I think it was nerves get definitely something I just
didn't fish is good the second day at all.
But yeah, I definitely like whenI woke up, I was like, holy cow,
that was close. You know, just a couple more
fish on day 2 because I still had some 3 pounders.
Like now then we could have madeit interesting.
You know, I mean first classic to go like that and just see

(01:13:56):
like what it's like, you know, like after the first day they
pulled me in there with everybody.
And especially like you go, you pulling on with all the greats,
you know, Davey, Hyde, Zona, andthey're all sitting on the
couch, right? And I walk in and I'm like, Oh,
no, I was like, this is big moments.
I like sit down on the couch andlike question me.
And it was like, right then I was like, Holy cat, we're like,

(01:14:17):
we're like reading the best match for classic.
Like this is crazy. You know, like I was about to
start shaking in there. So it was, it was a, it was a
pretty cool moment just to get to experience that and
everything it was, it was prettyawesome.
So did the day after that. Were you motivated or were you a
little rocked for a few days? I was sad at first, you know,
because I mean, all I had to do is catch on Day 2.

(01:14:39):
I mean, of course we all look atthat stuff, right?
Like if we've done a different. But I was on the fish like 100%.
Like I don't know what I seen more day 2 too.
Like, I mean, I was on like on and I just did, I just didn't
get on the bite, you know, and that's usually what I take my
pride in is usually being able to get fish to bite.
And that day I was just off. I think it was just all the
stress got to me and just everything in a hole.

(01:15:02):
It just finally kind of got to me.
And day 2, I literally couldn't breathe that morning at take
off. Like I was like holy cow, like
this is bad. This is real bad.
I have never felt like this before and because I just never
experienced anything like that and that was wild.
It really was. I think that's what got me.
Day 2 was just just nerves and stuff and I guess after I

(01:15:24):
realized like, Dang, if I just wouldn't let that get to me.
I think I could, you know, I think could have because I was
on a lot of good fish. But you know, learning
experience, it gives me gives memore fire for next year wherever
we go. So you know, I'm excited for
sure. It's an awesome tournament.
It's a lot. It is a lot though for sure.

(01:15:44):
Everything you've accomplished is a lot.
Dude, you're 20 years old. I mean to to do what you're
doing is amazing. We're running out of light.
You're looking like you're like in a witness protection program.
Now all I see, all I see is yoursmile every once in a while.
So we're going to have to wrap this up, but thoughts Going into

(01:16:06):
lacrosse, you're in a two way tie with the reigning and
defending angler of the year. Yeah, I mean, you never wish bad
upon somebody, right? Like if you wish bad upon
somebody, just come back and bite your other butt.
So I mean, I wish the best luck to him.
And however it turns out, it turns out and we're both going

(01:16:27):
to go down to swing, you know, Imean, it's just it what it is.
I mean, it's it's 100 grand and one of the biggest titles ever.
And it's, it's a lot of works let up to this moment, you know,
like, I mean, I've worked all year and you know, if it's St.
John's this year, I had a 92nd. I mean, that is honestly
impressive, like impressive. And that one, that one hurt

(01:16:49):
really, really bad. I didn't have a limit.
I had two squeakers, 212 1/2 inchers and I brought them to
the scales, buddy. I was like, oh, I'm a champion
for sure. I got this.
So it, it has felt good to be able to, to come back from that
and put myself in contention even again this year because I
mean, in my brain I was like, it's over.

(01:17:10):
You know, there's nothing I can do to to get back to actually
having a chance to doing it after that, because I mean,
almost 100 place finishes. I mean, I had zero points on my
left there. And so it it has been it's been
an amazing journey to be able tocome back from that and even
have a chance to do it. So, you know, best of luck to
him. He's a great angler.
He catches them every time he goes somewhere and you know,

(01:17:32):
he's consistent, whether I mean,I could beat him one tournament
and then I just do mediocre and he still does the same, you
know, twenty 25th, 20th top 10. I mean, super consistent anger,
whether it's Florida small mouthor whatever.
I mean, great dude too. He's he's always been nice to
me. I cannot say 1 bad thing about
Chris Johnson. He really is like, you know,

(01:17:54):
some people might not agree withhow they do things, but to me
he's always been nice to me. So I can't I can never say that.
So I mean, honestly, it's going,it's going to be a battle and
whoever takes it's going to takeit.
And I hope I'm going to be either way, whether it's me or
him, it's going to be it's goingto be a good show out.
So I'm excited for it. It's going to be a lot.

(01:18:16):
I mean, it's, it's it's epic purport like to go into their
tide. It is, it's I mean, if, if you
could write a Disney novel, that's what it is.
Like it's, you know what I mean?Like we're going to it's the
tightest it's ever been. It's I can't wait to watch it go
down as a fan. Has it ever been like a tie

(01:18:37):
going into the last event? No, never, ever.
This is the tightest it's ever been going into the last event.
I mean, it's, it's never been this tight.
So and it's it's going to be themost pure because it's simple.
I mean, there's no, you know, usually you're crunching numbers
and they came in with a 17 pointlead or whatever.

(01:18:57):
There's no crunching numbers. Whoever finishes the best in
this tournament freaking wins. Like realistically, you could
finish second in this tournamentand not win it if Chris Johnson,
you know what I mean, And vice versa.
It's but it's going to be one ofthe most pure awesome battles.
I I'm I'm excited to see it. I hope you both just I don't

(01:19:20):
even want to say that I don't want to plant seeds.
I just I can't wait to watch it go down.
Yeah. Let's just leave it at that,
yeah? Lots of people seem to think
they know who you are, whether they're supporters or haters.
If you could tell the world one thing about you that you think
is misunderstood, what is it? I mean, I feel like I'm a pretty

(01:19:44):
nice guy, like overall, you know, I don't feel like I'm that
mean and bad, to be honest. You know, I feel like I'm pretty
genuine. Yeah.
I just, I'm just a guy that likes to hunt and fish and
that's all. That's all I have is just a love
for the sport, you know, and youknow, it just it just does hurt
when people don't see that. They see me trying to, you know,
you know, be cocky or anything else like that.

(01:20:06):
And maybe I do say something wrong on live or something that
somebody takes wrong or something.
But I mean, I don't realize that, you know, I'm hyped up
like that. You know, it's I'm on live and
and, you know, sometimes I mightsay stuff that comes across
wrong or something. But no, just a just a regular
guy that loves to fish and lovesto hunt.
Honestly, like if I had to say anything to the world that's

(01:20:26):
about. That's about it.
You know, I love the Lord and I hunt and fish like that's,
that's just try to be honest. Well, I appreciate your time.
I know it's a busy week. I know you got a lot in your
plate, and here's what I want todo for you.
I mean, you've got 2 Elite Series titles.
You've accomplished quite a bit for 20 on the way to lacrosse.

(01:20:47):
I'm going to stop at the local Dollar General, I'm going to
pick you up a phone holder, and I'm going to pick you up a light
so you can be ultra professionalon all the other podcasts you
do. Yep.
I agree. Yeah.
So you don't have to just see myeyes or my teeth.
I will I will buy those for you,but thank you dude, like I told

(01:21:13):
you after you won you got one for each year.
Now put them in there and just put your head down and keep
fishing because you're an awesome part to this sport and
whether somebody loves or hates forward faces sonar, you're
playing within the rules and youare.
It's cool to see I. Appreciate it boy all.

(01:21:34):
Right. I think the obvious way to end
this, because it's so dark, is. Good night, Trey.
Real close. We're going to be late.
See you. Good night, Trey.
Go to sleep now. There you have it, Trey
McKinney. Hopefully this conversation
answered a few of the questions you may have about him, because
Trey McKinney is simply one of the most talked about, one of

(01:21:56):
the most critiqued, one of the most tested young pros we've had
in a very, very long time. And all of that doesn't come
from nothing. I mean, part of that comes
because he's accomplishing a lotin a very short period of time.
And with that comes a lot. He's also made some mistakes,

(01:22:17):
which he admitted, and he has paid for those mistakes.
I find myself challenged to remember that Trey McKinney is
20 when I'm talking to him, and I get it.
He's fishing against adults. He he is an adult.
He should be treated like an adult, and he is, but he's still

(01:22:40):
20. I don't know what is more
impressive to me, his ability tocatch bass or his ability to
block out some of the stuff thatcircles around him.
It's kind of amazing what we're seeing.
Love him or hate him, you have to admit what's happening is
amazing. And you have to remember one
thing. It's not Train Mckinney's job to

(01:23:04):
keep the Internet happy. It's not train Mckinney's job to
appease somebody who doesn't like a particular device that
anglers are. Legally allowed to use.
In tournament fishing, it's train Mckinney's job to catch
the five biggest fish possible every single day of competition.

(01:23:25):
And statistically, he's. Pretty freaking good at his job.
I can't wait to watch the final event of the season to have a
two way tie going into the finalevent in lacrosse, Wisconsin.
And if his job becomes taking out Chris Johnson, the reigning

(01:23:48):
angler of the year who finished second the last time we were in
lacrosse, that is not an easy job.
But every single year we go intothe season and say, I just want
it to be a tight race. This is the tightest it's ever
been, and I can't wait to go it to see it go down.
So as I said at the beginning, Ihope this conversation answered

(01:24:11):
some of your questions about Trey.
I got a question for you. Are you a Trey McKinney fan or
does he still have to win you over?
Let me know in the comments. Have a great week, thanks for
watching. Make sure to like, comment,
subscribe, do all those things that help stroke the algorithm.

(01:24:31):
Until next time, enjoy being. And as always, Bob Cobb, take it
away. Thanks for watching.
Please like, comment and subscribe because Bob Cobb of
the Bass Masters told you to youhere.